Friday, July 29th top stories
Hello there! I will be subbing for Alex for today’s top news. Today is Friday, July 29th. Here are the top stories.
-
More than 780k vaccine dosages for monkeypox available
As of this recent Wednesday, it is reported that there are over 20,000 cases of monkeypox globally in 77 countries. The U.S. has 4,600 reported cases. The Biden administration just announced more than 780,000 doses of vaccine for monkeypox will be available today. The full vaccine requires two shots with at least one month in between.
San Francisco’s mayor declared a state of emergency yesterday due to the city’s growing number of cases. San Francisco also mentioned that they will prioritize vaccines for men and trans people.
The case of monkeypox usually lasts two to four weeks and people will experience flu-like symptoms. This is spread through close physical contact. Health officials said they are still trying to decide if they should declare monkeypox as a health emergency because that would help with more resources being opened up.
--
Flash flood in Kentucky kills at least eight people
At least 8 people have died so far from a big flood in eastern Kentucky. On Wednesday, there was heavy rain that was more than 9 inches. The rain continued to Thursday morning causing the creeks, and streams, to overflow. The heavy rain led to the flood.
In a news article, a survivor mentioned that she got a text of a flash flood alert at 1:15am then by 2 am, everything she had was already underwater. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear mentioned that he expects to see the number of deaths rise and this flood is one of the “worst, most devastating flooding events” in state history. Beshear has called a state of emergency for all of Kentucky and he did request President Joe Biden for federal assistance. It seems that more rain will continue today and possibly throughout next week which might cause more flooding.
A Tweet from a local meteorologist showed a photo of an elementary school in Buckhorn, showing the school nearly underwater. Hundreds of people have already lost their homes and news articles mentioned that it will take years for many families to rebuild and recover.
--
Uvalde principal returns to work after suspension
This recent Monday, the principal, Mandy Gutierrez, for Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where the shooting happened that left 19 children and 2 teachers dead, was placed on administration leave. As of yesterday, Mandy was allowed to return to work.
She was allowed to return to her work after defending herself in a letter. She was placed on administrative leave because she was blamed as part of the problem for not being responsible for some security measures.
Mandy mentioned in her letter that she will always “live with the horror of these events for the rest of my life” and that she wants to keep her job to provide for her family. Mandy has worked at the Uvalde school district for 20 years.
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
——
[Advertisement from Disaster Distress Helpline]
After a disaster, you may be at risk for emotional distress. Warning signs can include feeling isolated, anxious, having trouble sleeping and more. If you or someone you know is Deaf or hard of hearing, the Disaster Distress Helpline offers a direct videophone option.
This free service for ASL users is answered 24/7 by trained crisis workers fluent in ASL and can be accessed using any videophone-enabled device and dialing 1-800-985-5990 or at disasterdistress.samhsa.gov.
———
Giant LED screen falls on dancers at Hong Kong concert
Yesterday, in Hong Kong, a giant LED video screen fell down during a boy band concert and hurt two dancers. The dancers were part of the boyband concert by Mirror. It seems that the tv screen hit one dancer directly on the head and body then toppled over to the other dancer. The two dancers were brought to the hospital immediately. One dancer is in serious condition in intensive care with neck injuries, the other one is stable. No names have been released. News articles mentioned that fans screamed in horror when they witnessed it. There are videos of that incident circulating around.
There is a petition by fans encouraging the boyband Mirror to take their safety procedures more seriously because it seems that “accidents” usually happen at their concerts have been frequent. That Mirror is widely popular in Hong Kong and has toured around Asia for their music.
--
Biden’s granddaughter announces wedding on South Lawn
President Joe Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi Biden, will get married at the White House’s South Lawn. She announced in a tweet that she finally figured out where her ceremony would be and is “relieved” that she has been “approved” by the White House secret service and Biden’s dogs that she will get married on the South Lawn.
Originally in April, Naomi and her fiancé Peter Neal planned on having their wedding ceremony somewhere else then have a wedding reception at the White House. Then she now announced that the ceremony will be at the South Lawn. The South Lawn is a green space of several acres where the White House is. That area is known to be used for the take off and landing point for Marine One (president helicopter), White House Easter Egg Roll, and White House Kitchen Garden. It will be the first time that a wedding ceremony hosted by one of the president's family members will be on that lawn.
–
That’s all for now. Have a great weekend. See you later and as always, don’t forget to stay with the light.
Flash flood: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/28/eastern-kentucky-flooding-power-outages/10171776002/
Hong Kong: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-62335828
Biden: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/28/politics/white-house-wedding-naomi-biden/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/us/politics/naomi-biden-white-house-wedding.html